investment

In our last piece, we covered fund management costs. Next, let’s take a step back from the mutual funds, ETFs, or other holdings you decide to invest in. Where do these holdings live — and what does it cost to buy, sell, and hold them?

An Account of Your Accounts

What are your investments really costing you? If you’re not sure, you’re not alone. It’s not like you’re handed a menu of charges to choose from when it’s time to place your order. Even when you know where to look for investment costs, the information can be difficult to digest.

Every January, it’s typical to reflect on market data from the year past. You’ll see the results in your own quarterly reports, as well as across the usual flurry of broad market analyses.

So far in our investment basics series, we’ve explored the history of investing, how important it is to save (so you have money to invest), how to invest efficiently in broad markets, and why to avoid chasing or fleeing rising or falling prices.

In our last piece, we described our marvelous markets, and how to account for their being both robust and random at the same time. Today, we’ll look at how stock pricing works, and why Nobel laureate William F.

The purpose of this article is to get the IRS to owe you money.

Of course, the IRS will not likely cut you a check for this money (although, in the right circumstances, that will happen), but you’ll realize the cash when you pay less in taxes.

To say the least, there’s been plenty of political, financial, and economic activity this year — from rising interest rates to elevated inflation, to ongoing market turmoil.

It's been a rough Fall for the stock market - so much so that you should probably carefully review your portfolio and other capital transactions to minimize gains or maximize losses for the year. Remember, capital gains and losses are not just limited to stock transactions. For example, stock losses can offset the gain from the sale of a rental.

In our last piece, we introduced the importance of saving, which is the first of five basics that have served investors well over time. Today, we’ll look at where stock market returns really come from, and why that matters to your investing.

This has been a challenging year for investors. On top of the equity bear market, the steep losses in bonds¹ have been especially surprising, leading some investors to question whether the classic 60/40 portfolio is dead.